Note-sheet-guide mechanism.



PATENTED JULY 16, 1907.

F. W. WOOD. NOTE SHEET GUIDE MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 25. 1906.

iweiaar' I Fed 3 1 "wad.

Zinasses UNITED sTA'rEs PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERIOI-I W. WOOD, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO BERRY-WOOD PIANO PLAYER (10., OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

NOTE-SHEET-GUIDE MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jul 16, 1907.

Application filed August ,25, 1906. Serial lie- 331,967-

- of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have, invented certain new and useful Imprbvements in Note-Sheet-' Guide Mechanism,- of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to automatic piano playing mechanism and more especially to that type embodying a perforated note sheet adapted to travel over a tracker bar and a guide roller, and my object is to produce mechanism of this character embodying a roller consisting of two sections arranged end to end and adapted to rotate' independently or together around a common axis under the frictional engagement of the note sheet, together with means whereby lateral movement of the note sheet in one direction or the other shall result in retarding or arresting the movement of one section or the other to increase the friction between such retarded or arrested section and the note sheet and thereby compel the latter to reverse its creeping or lateral movement until it is again trackirigperfectly with the passages of the tracker' bar'. i 7

With this general object in view the invention consists in certain novel and peculiar features of construction and organization as hereinafter described and claimed; and in order that it maybe fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which.

Figure 1, is a vertical section taken on the line II of Fig. 2, of apparatusembodying my invention. Fig. 2,

is -a top plan view'of the same with the note sheet broken away and the perforations thereof omitted. Fig. 3, is a view partly broken away showing one section of the roller and the means for retarding or arresting it. Fig. 4, is an end view of the tracker bar. Fig. 5, is an enlarged vertical longitudinal section of the tracker bar and contiguous parts hereinafter described. Fig. 6, is a detail perspective view of a slide iorming a part of the tracker bar. Fig; 7, is a detail view of the screw for adjusting the slide. I

In the said drawings 1 indicates a frame of the type shown or of any other suitable or preferred type, 2, 2, represent feed rollers one or both of which are driven by any suitable means in the direction indicated by the contiguous arrows, 3, 4, and 5 are guide rollers suitably journaled in the frame, guide roller 5 consisting of two rollers and over the other rollers named and the tracker bar as shown and is adapted to travel in thedirection indicated by the contiguous arrow Fig. 1.

11 indicates the usual type of tracker bar openings, and 12 tubes communicating therein with and adapted 156 be connected by flexible tubes not shown, to theplayer mechanism also not shown.

13, 14, indicate supplemental openings in the tracker bar communicating at their lowerend with tubes 15 and 16. 17 indicates an inverted-T shaped groove in one end of the tracker bar and 18 a correspondingly shaped slide longitudinally adjustable in said groove and provided with openings 19 and 20 communicating respectively with the upper ends of openings 13 and 14, the innermost opening 20 being normally overlapped and closed-by the note sheet as shown clearly in Fig. 2. 21

indicates a vertical groove in the outer end of the slide and 22 a slot opening into said groove and narrower than the latter (see Fig 6). 1 I

23 indicates a screw mounted in the contiguous portion of frame 1, and provided with a reduced neck portion 24, to occupy slot 22 and a head 25 to occupy groove 21. It will thus be seen that a swivcled relation is esat its upper end to tube 15 andat its lower end to a tube 27 communicating with the valve and diaphragm casing. Said tube communicates with the chamber 28 of said casing and through a vent hole 29 with the suc tion or vacuum chamber.30 of the casing, a flexible diaphragm 31 being adapted to be depressed into chamber 28 or expanded into chamber 30, the latter being its normal position because of the fact that air may pass to chamber 28 because the note sheet normally does not cover said opening 19.

32 indicates a chamber connected by valve opening 33 to chamber 30 and by opening 34 to the atmosphere. 35 is a valve stem suitably guided and extending through openings 33 and 34 and adapted to be raised under the expansion oi diaphragm 31 and to drop when said diaphragm is depressed.

36 indicates a valve secured to stem 35 above opening 34, and 37 a valve secured to the stem below opening 33, the last-named valve normally closing o ening 33 because of the expansion 01' the diaphragm. Valve 36 is normally raised above opening 3-1 for the some reason so that air may pass through said opening into chamber 32 and thence pass by way of tube 38 inlo a pneumatic or bellows 39 and thus maintain the latter normally expanded as shown in Fig. 3. Said pneuers opening adapted g3 @soblo matic is provided with an arm 40 provided with a brake shoe 41 guided iii an opening 42 in theframeand when said pneumatic or bellows is collapsed as hereinafter explained, to engage the end of the contiguous section of roller 5 and retard or arrest the motion of said section. I

" 43 indicates a tube corresponding to tube 26 and adapted'to be connected to tube 16 and at its opposite end to the tube 27 communicating with chamber 28 of the, second valve and diaphragm easing, which casing correspondsln all essential particulars to the casing del. scribed and is equipped with a similar diaphragm. The valve rod of the second casing'is equipped with only a single valve 44 located in chamber 32 and adapted to alternately close'openings 33, 34; said valve in its normal position closing opening 33 because the normal position of diaphragm 31 0i the second casing is depressed, as the note sheet norm ally overlaps and cov- 20 of the slide as hereinbeiore explained. It will also be seen that wi h'said valve 44 in the position described opening 34.is normally covered by the valve and that consequeiitly air is free ,to pass into chamber 32 and thence through tube 38 to the second pneumatic 39 at the opposite end of roller 5, -which pneumatic is likewise equipped with an arm 40 and brake shoe 41 to engage the other section of roller 5, said brake shoe like the one first described being nor mally withdrawn from the roller so that as the note sheet travels in the direction indicated, both sections of the roller reyolve together and at the same speed under the friction oi'the note sheet.

sheet and creeping motion until it again covers opening 20 and The suction chambers 30 of the valve casings are connected by suitable tubes 45 to the tube 46 connected with the main suction chamber or the bellows not shown, of the player mechanism, these parts being omitted because ofcornmon and well known construetion.

Should the note :shect'swerve or creep to the right with reference to Fig. 2, so as to uncovor'opening 20 of the slide, air will enter said opening and pass through opening 14 and tubes 16 and 43 to chamber 28 and raise diaphragm 31 (of thesccond casing). This expansion of the diaphragm causes valve 44 to move upwardand open communication between-the suction chamber and the second pneumatic and effect a collapse of the latter and the consequent application or the brake shoe on the end of the contiguous section of the rolls; This action causes said roller to act as'a drag on the .note the latter therefore to reverse its swerviugor by cutting off the passage of air to chamber 28 of the second valve casing result in the redepression of the diaphragm 31 and the reclosure of opening 33 by valve 44:. At the same time passage 34 is reopened by the withdrawal of the valve and air passes through said opening to said pneumatic and instantly rexpands' the same and withdraws'the brake shoe from the roller; If tlienote sheet swerves in the opposite direction to that described so as to cover the normally ergposcd opening 19, the'passage of air to chamber 28 is cut off and the exhaust through the suction chamber 30 withdraws the air from chamber 28 into the suction chamber. Asa result the atmospheric pressure on the valve oi the first named casing forces it downward and depresses the diaphragm and thereby closesthe pass-2g 'oi' the roller-,pneumatics connected of air through opening 34 and the connected pneu matic or bellows and opens communication between the latter and said suction chamber, the result being said pneumatic or bellows causes its brake shoe'to engme the contiguous section oi'roll'er 5, and retard or arrest .the same and cause it to act as a drag and reverse the swerving or creeping movement of the note 'sheet untilthe latter again uncovers opening 19, when the latnamed valve and diaphragm" reverse their positions from an obvious causeand said connected pneumatic or bellows is rcrrpanded.

It will thus be seen that through the connections lLi .mechanism described, the lateral swervi'ng or creeping movement of the note sheetitseli results in its tracking accurately with the tracker bar openings 11 so that the keys of the musical instrumenhnot shown, shall be properly played.

Fromthe above description it will be apparent that I have produced a mechanism possessing the features of advantage enumerated as desirable and which may be modified in some paiticulars without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. in a mechanism of the character described, a notesheet, 21 tracker bar provided wlthn pair of openings, of which one is normally closed by the note sheet, and the other normally left uncovered by said note sheet, a sectional roller over which the note sheet travels, and means whereby the exposure by the note sheet of the normally I covered opening of the tracker barslmll result in applying a braking pressure on one section of said sectional roller.

2. in a mechanism of the character described, a note-' sheet, a tracker bar provided with a pair 01 openings, of whichone is normally covered by the note sheet and the other letl'nncovered by said sheet, a sectional roller over which the note sheet travels, and means whereby the cov erlng by the note sheet of the normally exposed opening shall result in applying a braking pressure on one section of the roller.

3. In a mechanism of the character described, a notesh-eet, a tracker bar providedv with a pair of openings of which one is normally covered and the other uncovered by the note sheet, a sectional roller over which the note sheet travels. brakeshoes for engagement with the sections of said roller, means for holding said brake shoes normally withdrawn from tlleir'respective sections of the roller, and means .whereby the uncovering by the note sheet of the normally covered opening of the tracker bar or the coverlngby the note sheet of the normally uncovered opening of the tracker bur shall result in causing an application of one of the brake shoes or the other to its respective section of the roller.

of the character described, a notesheet; a tracker bar provided with a pair oi openings of which one is normally covered and the other uncovered by the note sheet, a sectional roller over which the note sheet travels, brake shoes for engagement with the sections to said brake shoes and normally expanded to withdraw them from engagement at. in a mechanism with their respective sections of the roller, and means whereby the uncovering of the normally-covered opening 01 the-tracker bur shall result in the collapse of its respective pneumatic and the application of the corresponding brake to its respective section of the roller.

5. In a mechanismof the character described, :1 notesheet, a tracker bar provided wltha pair oi. openings of which one is normally covered and the other uncovered by the note sheet, a sectional roller over which the note sheet travels, brake shoes for engagement with the sections of the roller, pneumatlcs connected to said brake shoes and normally expanded to withdraw them from engagement with their respective sections of the roller, :lud means whereby the covering otime normally uncovered. opening ofthe tracker bar shall result in effecting the collapse of its respective pneumatic and consequently in the application of the corresponding brake shoe to its respective section of the roller.

6. In a mechanism of the character described, a notesheet, a tracker har provided with a pair of openings of which one is normally covered and the other uncovered by the note sheet, :1 sectional roller over which the-note sheet travels, brake shoes for engagement with the sections of the roller, pneumfitics connected to said brake shoes and normally expanded to withdraw them from engagement with their respective sections of the roller, means whereby the uncovering of the normally covered opening of the tracker bar shall result in the collapse of its respective pneumatic and the application of the corresponding brake to its respective section of the roller, and means whereby the covering of the normally uncovered opening of the tracker bar shall result in ell'ecting the collapse of its respective pneumatic and consequently in the application of the corresponding hrakc shoe to its respective section of the roller.

In testimony whereof I uilix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICII \V, WOOD. 

